The Dance of Anger: A Woman’s Guide to Changing the Patterns of Intimate Relationships

“Anger is a signal and one worth listening to,” writes Dr. Harriet Lerner, in her renowned classic that has transformed the lives of millions of readers.While anger deserves our attention and respect, women still learn to silence our anger, to deny it entirely, or to vent it in a way that leaves us feeling helpless and powerless. In this engaging and eminently wise book, Dr. Lerner teaches women to identify the true sources of our anger and to use anger as a powerful vehicle for creating lasting change.

Author: Harriet Goldhor Lerner
Paperback:  256 pages
Company: Harper Paperbacks  (2005-05-01) (2005-05-03)
ISBN: 006074104X
List Price: $13.95
Amazon Price: $7.65
Used Price: $3.93

What to Expect When You’re Expecting, Third Edition
Eighteen years after it first hit the shelves and having sold more than 10 million copies, What to Expect When You’re Expecting is still on nearly every mother-to-be’s reading list. This completely revised and updated edition is packed with answers to hundreds of questions and worries expectant parents may have. The information is presented in a month-by-month format starting with planning a pregnancy and choosing a practitioner, and follows through to six weeks after delivery. Each chapter begins with an explanation of what to expect at a particular month’s prenatal visit and a brief description of how mom and baby are growing and changing before getting to the heart of the matter: What You May Be Concerned About. Topics are presented as questions ranging from “Should I be taking vitamins?” to “What if I forget everything I learn in childbirth education class?” to “Will I be able to breastfeed?” The answers are generally reassuring and provide enough information to soothe a worried mom between prenatal visits. Despite the reassuring answers, however, the sheer volume of worries discussed may alarm an otherwise calm mom-to-be.

The book also features a complete nutrition plan (though many women may find it difficult to follow), a special chapter just for expectant dads, and extensive information about dealing with minor illnesses, chronic conditions, and pregnancy complications. What to Expect has guided countless women through their pregnancies and makes an informative addition to the mainstream pregnancy and childbirth bookshelf. –Jennifer Lindsay

Author: Heidi Murkoff, Arlene Eisenberg, Sandee Hathaway
Paperback:  624 pages
Company: Workman Publishing Company  (2002-04-01)
ISBN: 0761121323
List Price: $13.95
Amazon Price: $4.37
Used Price: $2.37

The Game: Penetrating the Secret Society of Pickup Artists
Are you just another AFC (”average frustrated chump”) trying to meet an HB (”hot babe”)? How would you like to “full-close” with a Penthouse Pet of the Year? The answers, my friend, are in Neil Strauss’s entertaining book The Game. Strauss was a self-described chick repellant–complete with large, bumpy nose, small, beady eyes, glasses, balding head, and, worst of all, painful shyness around women. He felt like “half a man.” That is, until a book editor asked him to investigate the community of pickup artists. Strauss’s life was transformed. He spent two years bedding some fine chiquitas and studying with some of the North America’s most suave gents–including the best of them all, the God of the pickup “community,” a man named Mystery.

Mystery is an aspiring Toronto magician who charges $2,250 for a weekend pickup workshop. He is not much to look at: a cross between a vampire and a computer geek. But by using high-powered marketing techniques he’s turned seduction into an effortless craft–even inventing his own vocabulary. His technique sounds like a car salesman’s tip sheet: his main rule is FMAC–find, meet, attract, close. He employs the “three-second rule”–always approach a woman within three seconds of first seeing her in order to avoid getting shy. Other tricks: Intrigue a beautiful woman by pretending to be unaffected by her charm; also, never hit on a woman right away. Start with a disarming, innocent remark, like “Do you think magic spells work?” or “Oh my god, did you see those two girls fighting outside?” And finally, the most important characteristic of the pickup artist–smile.

After two years, Strauss ends up becoming almost as successful as Mystery, but he comes to an important realization. His techniques were actually off-putting to the woman he ended up falling in love with. And they never prepared him for actually having a relationship. After a while, he ran out of one-liners and had to have a real conversation. Still, The Game is a great read that may help some AFCs come out of their shells. –Alex Roslin

Author: Neil Strauss
Imitation Leather:  452 pages
Company: William Morrow  (2005-09-01) (2005-09-06)
ISBN: 0060554738
List Price: $35.00
Amazon Price: $17.49
Used Price: $16.99